Message from the Program Director
Program Director
Thank you for your interest in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) and Critical Care Medicine (CCM) Fellowship Programs at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
The PCCM fellowship Program is a combined three-year pulmonary and critical care medicine program and is fully accredited by the ACGME. The goal of the program is to provide excellent clinical and research training and prepare the fellows for both academic and non-academic clinical practice. Three fellows per year are accepted for a total of nine fellows. Fellowship training consists of approximately 20 months of clinical rotations, 13 months of electives/research and three months of vacation. The inpatient clinical rotations and electives are divided between UAMS and the adjoining John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital, part of the Central Arkansas Veterans Health System (CAVHS).
The CCM Fellowship Program is a two-year program and is fully accredited by ACGME. One fellow per year is accepted in the program for a total of two fellows and they primarily work at UAMS. The two-year training program consists of 12 months of Intensive care unit rotations and 12 months of electives/research and two months of vacation in total. The trainees have an opportunity to take more than required elective rotations of their choice in the other intensive care units including Cardiovascular intensive care unit, Surgical intensive care unit, Neurology and Neurosurgery critical care units.
Our patient population is diverse in terms of pulmonary and critical care diseases as both institutions are referral centers of choice for the state of Arkansas. We have three medical ICUs on our campus staffed with different critical care teams. UAMS has an active stem cell transplant program with a large medical oncology service, solid organ transplant services (liver, kidney), Level 1 trauma services, and a stroke center. Critical care training exposes our fellows to advanced mechanical ventilator management, airway management techniques, cardiac device support, bedside critical care procedures, point of care ultrasound (POCUS) education and ECMO education.
The John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital provides excellent clinical experience in lung cancer, bronchoscopy, and airway diseases. McClellan and the UAMS Medical Center have multidisciplinary lung cancer conferences which are attended by Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Thoracic Surgery, Pulmonary Medicine, Interventional pulmonary medicine and Radiology. Fellows will be working closely with interventional pulmonary team during consult rotations and in separate IP rotation for two months to sharpen their procedural skills and learn advanced bronchoscopy during this rotation.
UAMS offers the state’s only accredited Adult Cystic Fibrosis Center. We have specialty clinics for patients with pulmonary hypertension, chronic respiratory failure, Interstitial lung diseases and lung cancer. The division runs full-service sleep and pulmonary function test labs which provide the fellows with experience in those respective areas. There are continuity clinics for the pulmonary and critical care fellows at both the institutions throughout the three years of training.
Little Rock is a medium-sized community. It is a pleasant place to live and work, and the state offers many outdoor opportunities including fishing, hunting, hiking, camping, canoeing, bird watching, rock climbing, and biking. All are available in quantity and quality in Arkansas. Cultural opportunities include the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Arkansas Repertory Theater, the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, and more.
The Division of Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine participates in ERAS (Electronic residency application system) for both PCCM and CCM fellowship programs. We are not participating in program signaling currently. Applications through ERAS are only accepted for interviews and matching. We are interviewing virtually for this academic year, and we wish you all good luck for the interviews and matching.
Rajani Jagana, M.D., FCCP
Associate Professor
Program Director
Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program
Email: rjagana@uams.edu
Phone: 501-686-5526